Andrew Flintoff was preoccupied for just 20 balls on Saturday night at Edgbaston. Yet there is now the assumption that his career might swerve dramatically from being a celebrity back towards being a cricketer, or at least a celebrity cricketer. With the likes of Flintoff it is folly to rule anything out.

There was a surreal element to Flintoff’s remarkable return to the big stage in the T20 final. First it required a routine shoulder injury to Kabir Ali towards the end of Lancashire’s semi-final against Hampshire. In the 45 minutes between games there was suddenly Lancashire’s number 26 bowling with purpose out in the middle and the murmur grew ever louder “Freddie’s playing”; colour writers changed their plans for an early exit from Edgbaston.

Five years to the day since he ran out Ricky Ponting at The Oval in his last Test it was, perhaps, inevitable that Flintoff should return with a bang. His first ball was on target; Ian Bell tried something ambitious and the ball looped towards mid-on, where Karl Brown ran back to hold a superb catch. But all eyes were on Flintoff – the arms were outstretched for long enough for the snappers to catch his famous triumphant pose once more.

He was removed from the attack after two overs and 20 runs, figures dented by a hip-high full-toss, correctly deemed a no-ball and smitten over the square leg boundary. Ah well, no disgrace in those figures. Humiliation had been averted.

But then he came out to bat at number nine, surely too low for a man who in the past has managed to tinker with the cricketing fates. Thirty were required by Lancashire off 13 balls.

It was a practically impossible task but after Flintoff had struck Oliver Hannon-Dalby for two consecutive straight sixes, no one in the Warwickshire side or among an entranced capacity crowd was taking anything for granted. Lancashire fell four runs short. Warwickshire were triumphant but their victory had almost been hijacked by Flintoff.

So where next? It seems as if Lancashire have been a little lukewarm about Flintoff’s plans to return to cricket this summer. The impetus came from the player rather than the club; they batted him at number nine, for heaven’s sake, and he was only selected, in between various niggles, for two matches before the final. But they might be more interested to have him on board next summer.

Then there is the Big Bash in Australia. Flintoff’s old mate, Stuart Law, is in charge in Brisbane. There could be overtures from there. Moreover, Graeme Smith in South Africa has been charged with finding some high-profile players to boost their T20 competition. He has just wooed Kevin Pietersen successfully, not a task he would have relished a few years ago. Why not Flintoff as well? In the extraordinary world of T20 anything is possible after 20 balls.